GAMES TODAY
(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)
5 p.m. – Meralco vs. SMB
7:30 p.m. – Ginebra vs. Converge
DEFENDING champion Meralco and Converge are out to gain lifelines and avoid disconnection for good from the season-ending tilt.
But they’re up against two pro league heavyweights—San Miguel Beer and Ginebra— equally determined to advance to the Last Four.
The Bolts stake the crown when they take on the Beermen today in the quarterfinals of the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
“We’re ready. We’ve been here a lot of times, so I think we’d really respond well in this first game. But you have to get to one before you get to two,” Meralco coach Luigi Trillo said ahead of his No. 8 charges’ 5 o’clock clash with top seed and twice-to-beat SMB. “They’ve been playing well. It’s gonna be a good match-up. I’m looking at the way their games are being played now.
“It’s a different San Miguel. They’re playing the most consistent basketball, that’s why they’re No. 1,” he added.
The fourth-ranked Kings, also armed with a win-once bonus, meet the No. 5 FiberXers in the nightcap at 7:30.
The wards of Beermen coach Leo Austria emerged as elimination pacesetter with an 8-3 mark and are expectedly draw strength from the likes of reigning eight-time MVP June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, Marcio Lassiter, Don Trollano, Juami Tiongson, and Rodney Brondial.
Meralco sank to a 6-5 slate after the elims and now faces the tall odds of keeping its first-ever title it won over SMB in six games a little over a year ago.
A knockout tiff, or tiffs, if necessary, will be played on Sunday, June 22, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Skipper Chris Newsome, Bong Quinto, Chris Banchero, Cliff Hodge, Aaron Black, and Raymond Almazan will power Meralco.
“They have two really solid bigs that are really hard to handle and match-up to. We know them a little bit because we played them already and we played them out-of- town. Japeth (Aguilar) played a big game back then and he’s obviously going to need to do that to battle those two bigs,” Ginebra tactician Tim Cone said, referring to Converge big men Justine Baltazar and Justin Arana and the Kings’ 85-66 rout of the FiberXers in their elims showdown last May 10 in San Fernando, Pampanga. “We’re going to need a big game from Japeth.
“Bottom line is we’re just going to prepare ourselves and try to go out and just win one game. That’s really, we’re just thinking about one game, not twice-to-beat, but we’re just thinking about one game and winning that.”
Aside from Aguilar, Ginebra will rely on former MVP Scottie Thompson, Stephen Holt, RJ Abarrientos, Troy Rosario, and Jamie Malonzo.
Perhaps Converge interim strategist Franco Atienza can draw hope from Trillo.
“Teams in the lower half (of the last eight) are very capable of beating those at the top half. You look at those teams (5th to 8th), they’re all solid: TNT, Rain or Shine, us,” Trillo said. “Even Converge, which is an up-and-coming young team.
“Are we capable of winning two? Yes, we are. Locked in lang muna kami dito sa first game.”
